UBC president Stephen Toope leaving post next year

The president of UBC Stephen Toope is stepping down to pursue personal interests.

Photograph by: wayne leidenfrost Wayne Leidenfrost
, PNG

VANCOUVER - The University of B.C. will look for a new leader who embodies the same commitment to environmental sustainability, global competitiveness and local responsibility demonstrated by outgoing president Stephen Toope.

Bill Levine, chairman of UBC’s board of directors, said the university will assemble a search committee within the next four to six weeks to begin scouring the globe for a replacement for the university’s “beloved and respected president,” who announced earlier Wednesday he will leave his post in June of next year.

Finding a successor will be no small task, said Levine.

“(Toope) has a wonderful vision of what it takes to be a great university in terms of building the student experience, the research and the contribution to society, such as our outreach program in our community here,” he said.

The university hopes to find a new president who will build on that vision.

“I think right now we’re not looking for necessarily a change agent. We’re looking for somebody who embraces the values that we have today,” Levine said.

But, he added, a successor would be welcome to put his or her own stamp on the university.

Toope, an international law scholar who had previously worked with the United Nations, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and as dean of McGill University’s faculty of law, joined UBC as president in 2006.

Under his leadership, UBC has been consistently ranked in the top 40 universities in the world and has cemented its reputation as a top research institution, attracting more than $500 million in research grants each year. UBC has also grown to encompass 55,000 students, 14,000 staff, and is one of B.C.’s largest employers, contributing more than $10 billion in economic benefits to the province each year.

The size and scope of the university means any prospective leader must excel at managing diverse faculties, fundraising and liaising with partners in government and the private sector, said Levine.

“To make this enterprise work — and it’s a huge enterprise — we need a good chief executive officer.”

He also noted that with Toope at the helm, UBC has become known for its commitment to environmental sustainability, with innovative technologies at work in campus buildings.

That is one mantle UBC would do well to continue to champion, said Philip Altbach, director of the Centre for International Higher Education at Boston College in Boston, Mass.

Developing expertise in niche areas, such as sustainability, is one way universities can distinguish themselves in an increasingly globalized world, he said.

UBC is well situated to attract the best students and faculty worldwide, he added, because it is well-known in international academic circles, and Vancouver is an attractive location.

UBC’s future leader should be a good business manager, Altbach said, but he cautioned against following a recent trend among universities of hiring people with management — rather than academic — backgrounds to run the show.

“Top universities, and definitely UBC is in that rank, should hire presidents who themselves have been fairly distinguished scholars — scientists, researchers — in their own lives. They’ve walked the walk, if you will,” he said,

A more encouraging trend UBC is a part of, he continued, is developing interdisciplinary programs that involve faculties and community resources to develop programs that are responsive to local concerns while tapping into global trends.

“Making sure that the university has ties with top institutions in other countries,” he said.

UBC’s new leader must also be a strong fundraiser, Altbach added, noting many universities are establishing public-private partnerships to fund research opportunities and labs.

But there’s a fine balance to this.

“The role of the president is to make sure that there are links with the private sector,” he said. “But not to sell out.”

Toope has, by many accounts, excelled in that goal, establishing the $1.5-billion fundraising effort Start An Evolution at the height of the recession in 2008. To date, the project has raised $1 billion. Toope has said he will continue to focus on the fundraising effort for his remaining year at UBC.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a statement Wednesday he was sorry to hear of Toope’s impending departure.

“He brought a very forward-looking style of leadership that was an asset not just for UBC but to the City as a whole. ... Whoever replaces him will have big shoes to fill.”

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